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What’s eating my Dicksonia Antartica

MattPuMattPu Posts: 10
in Problem solving
I have positioned my 4ft tree ferns and I think done everything right so far. My new fronds however are being devoured and in fact just sawn up by something. What pest could do this?

Posts

  • hogweedhogweed Posts: 4,053
    Mice? squirrels?

    'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
  • treehugger80treehugger80 Posts: 1,923
    could be snails?
  • MattPuMattPu Posts: 10

    Well just to make sure the new fronds have a chance I’ve protected with grease band and wire mesh. Might look over the top but want to give it a good start. 
  • Sandrah61Sandrah61 Posts: 12
    I am overwintering my juvenile dicksonia in a cool room in my home, I bought the plant which doesn't have a trunk and it was growing in 4 inch pot but the plant was pot bound three weeks later. I decided to repot the plant in coir compost as it helps air circulate between the plant roots and the plant and I potted on to a five inch pot. Fast foreword to 0ctober and the plant has grown so much it's now in a nine inch pot. I grow other house plants so I stopped feeding these plant fertiliser and done the same with the dicksonia but I spray mist the fern as I know the plant can't dry out completely and it likes to be kept humid. I spray mist my other dicksonia's in the garden which have got trunks which I grow in pots in the summer.  I am hoping the growth rate of my juvenile dicksonia will slow down as the dormant season progresses otherwise I will have to invest in bigger plant pots. Perhaps the coir helps the plant to grow by aerating the roots as this is the first time I have used it.
  • Sandrah61Sandrah61 Posts: 12
    In one of my dicksonia's which I grow in pot and it has a trunk I noticed during the summer wood lice in the trunk of the plant. Since I have been growing dicksonia's for five years I've never saw mice, squirrels or slugs anywhere near the trunks. If it's a wood lice problem they feed on decaying wood but not sure if they do much damage as I didn't notice any damage to the trunk of the plant.
  • jowyethjowyeth Posts: 2
    edited May 2020
    Squirrels had a feast on my brand new tree fern, it looks a real mess with chewed off knuckles with no fronds to unfurl, should I remove what remains, I noticed some jello like ooze on some of the stubs. It has two fronds remaining that look rather lonesome but I'm hoping that they will soldier on. Any advice would be appreciated. 
  • MattPuMattPu Posts: 10
    Hi @jowyeth
    yes definitely persevere as a year on my chewed fern is now looking great. See pic. (Apologies sideways).
    The way I did it was to leave the chewed frond’s and protect at all costs the ones not damaged. I protected mine with a small homemade cage as seen at the start of the post. 
    Once the frond gets going and taller allow a small space in the cage for it to grow out of. 
    You can remove the cage when the frond is at least 4 or 5 inches tall. 
    The squirrels are not interested in them when they are that big. 
    The frond juice is very sweet and succulent, which does attract pests like squirrels. Once a frond has been damaged slightly it dies off and won’t grow. 
    However don’t worry as you will get new ones next year. 
    It’s a pain to do the cage each year but I have got 9 fronds now and looking healthy. Good luck and hope it works out 😊
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